Changing Seasons
by HyaenusDominae
Summary: It's been several months since the birth of Bambi's children, and much has changed. Now, something happens that Bambi and Faline knew would happen, but that they both had tried to forget. Specifically, he has returned.
1. Homecoming

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Hello. This is my first story, and I'm really excited to get it out there. Please, read on and tell me what you think.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 1: Homecoming

The sun was setting on the meadow, and already all the creatures present could feel the somber mood of events to come. Across from them stood Bambi, the Great Prince of the Forest, atop a small bolder overlooking the congregation, and directly before them, the body.

Bambi took a deep breath, choked back some tears, and began: "I suppose I always knew that this day was inevitable. My father's age was the very thing that earned him his title. When I was still growing up with my mother, she told me, referring to my father 'Of all the deer in the forest, none have lived half so long.' Considering this, one may find it surprising that he lived to see the birth of my … children." His pause was almost undetectable. No one had probably heard it, but Bambi knew that one among the crowd had. He looked to his mate Faline, who looked down, avoiding eye contact, knowing why his eyes were on her.

Bambi, about to continue, suddenly noticed a fawn standing next to Faline. It wasn't theirs — she was standing to Faline's other side, and hadn't noticed the other fawn. This one was darker than theirs, and obviously male, with a pair of budding antlers adorning his head. Bambi didn't recognize him, and concluded that he must have just joined the herd.

Not wanting to seem distracted, Bambi continued. "I recently began to wonder what I would do when this day came. I remembered something else my mother told me. 'Everything in the forest has its season. Where one thing falls, another grows, maybe not what was there before, but something new and wonderful all the same.' At the time, I thought I understood her perfectly, but only now do I fully comprehend her words. I was going to have to be prepared for the greater changes in life, specifically death. In my lifetime, I have lost several of those close to me." Everyone looked down, knowing whom he meant. "I'm sure none of you need to be reminded of my mother, but to have lost my son, who had only begun to live, scars me even today. And now, I must be prepared, not only to cope this most recent loss, but to take my father's place as Prince" At this point, Bambi noticed that the fawn had started to stare at Faline, though Faline hadn't noticed. "I hope that my mother's words have duly prepared me for my days as Prince," he said slowly, still watching the fawn with narrowed eyes as it continued to stare, seeming completely transfixed by Faline.

Suddenly, Faline noticed Bambi's gaze and looked to her side, noticing her little observer. The fawn then looked at Bambi, attempting to seem uninterested in her. Immediately, the fawn's ears stood up, and he turned around. There was a buck about Bambi's size, closely resembling the fawn, standing at the edge of the meadow. The strange young deer promptly ran, looking somewhat guilty, to the buck, who turned and left, not waiting for the fawn to reach him. However, in the moment that Bambi and this very bizarre newcomer had shared each other's gaze, Bambi had noticed something: those eyes. He knew them all too well. They were … _her_ eyes. In that moment, he knew exactly who this buck and his fawn were.

Realizing his extended pause, Bambi decided to end his speech. "As for my father, I can only be thankful that he was allowed a more peaceful, timely passing than my mother."

Bambi stopped. He knew what had to be done next, but he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge it. Faline, seeing her mate's conflicted stated, approached him silently. "Bambi," she whispered, "you know what happens next."

"Yes," he whispered back. "Yes, I know."

"Well do it, then."

"Damn it, Faline!" Bambi nearly stopped whispering, but tried his best to maintain control, as he had been taught as a child. "You know what'll happen if we leave him out here. He'll be gone by morning."

"Yes," she answered gently, "and that's the point. You have to be able to leave him, to show them you can still be strong. It's time to move on, time to forget. Now conclude the service and let's leave." Her last sentence came out a bit too harshly, and Faline noticed a single tear rolling down her mate's cheek. "Oh Bambi." She leaned in to caress his cheek with hers. "I'm so sorry."

"No, you're right." Bambi replied, pulling away after a moment's comfort. "It's best to leave the past in the past. A prince does not look back, only ahead." With that, he returned his attention to those before him. "We will now have the viewing before we leave."

The two of them silently watched the other creatures of the forest step past the body, some taking more time than others. The last to go before them was their daughter, who took the most time of all. Being a mere child and having to deal with the death of a loved one, even one she hadn't known particularly well, wasn't proving easy for her. Eventually, however, she decided she'd seen enough and stepped briskly past, not wanting to look anymore. Finally, Bambi and Faline took their turn. Looking upon his father, Bambi thought he looked peaceful and at the same time restless somehow, as if his work had not yet been finished. _Maybe he didn't see me through to the end? _Bambi thought to himself, but he brushed the thought away. _He taught me all I need to know, and that's all that matters._

Dusk was approaching, and it was time to go. Though he knew he couldn't avoid it, just as his father couldn't have avoided his own death, Bambi just couldn't bring himself to leave. Once his father was alone, the creatures of the night would be upon him, and as much as the idea of allowing this to happen troubled him, Bambi knew it had to be done. Yet, he still showed no sign of moving. Silently, Bambi began to cry. Faline did her best her best to comfort him as she ushered him away. "Come on, Maria," she called to their daughter, who followed without a sound.

Slowly, the other animals dispersed as well. It was getting dark, and the howls were beginning to close in.

…

Later that night, after Maria had gone to sleep, Bambi, who had finally collected himself, spoke up to Faline. "I saw him today," he said.

"Saw who?" Faline replied, somewhat confused. She obviously hadn't recognized the fawn earlier, the way he had.

"They're back," Bambi stated plainly. Faline's eyes widened, suddenly understanding. "It's Ronno. He's back."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,

Assailed the monarch's high estate.

(Ah, let us mourn! — for never morrow

Shall dawn upon him desolate!)

And round about his home the glory

That blushed and bloomed,

Is but a dim-remembered story

Of the old time entombed.

from "The Haunted Palace" by Edgar Allan Poe

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Well, that's it. That's the first chapter of my first story. Please review. Constructive criticism is accepted, but please, no flames.


	2. Reunion

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Hello. I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out there, but I've been very busy. However, my schedule may become much more lenient soon, and I might be able to upload more often. Anyway, here's chapter two.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 2: Reunion

"What?" Faline exclaimed. "How do you know?"

"He was there," Bambi replied. "Him and … that fawn. They were at the funeral?"

"Are you sure it was them?"

"I recognized the fawn's eyes. I could only have been _that_ fawn, which means the buck could only—"

"What buck?" Faline interrupted him.

"The one he ran off to. It had to have been … him." Bambi couldn't bring himself to say that name twice. Faline noticed this and would have inquired as to what was wrong, had she not already known.

Bambi lowered his head and began to pace methodically. "Well, it's not like we didn't know this was going to happen. 'A few months. Maybe a season.' That's what we told him. Still, I don't think even the time he's been away will make this any easier."

Slowly, tentatively, Faline approached him. "Bambi?" she attempted, "What will we do about Maria? What happens if she meets Ronno?"

It was almost unnoticeable, but Bambi showed the slightest cringe at the mention of that name. He looked up at Faline and answered plainly, "I don't know. I think we'll just have to wait and see how things play out." He looked away from her, and there was spite in his next words. "Although, I'm sure it won't be that hard for them to get along, what with fa—" He was cut short, however, as Maria suddenly halted their conversation, having left the den where she'd been sleeping.

"Mother, what's going on? What're you two yelling about?" This surprised her parents, as they hadn't realized how much they'd allowed their voices to be raised. "Maria," Faline began, "your father and I were just talking, but it's over now. Right Bambi?"

Bambi looked away, then up at the starry sky. Somewhere, under those same stars, Ronno, the one deer in the forest it could be said that he truly hated, was undoubtedly sleeping alongside that fawn of his, just as Bambi and his father had done so many times when he was a fawn. _Maybe he's not that different from me,_ he thought._ Maybe he's changed since then. But if he has, I can't say what he's become. Whether he's changed or not, there's no telling what's in store for tomorrow._

"No … " he finally answered, slowly walking toward the spot where he always slept, apart from the other two. As he lay down, he added, "it's not quite over … not yet."

…

The next morning, though she awoke bright and early as always, Faline found that, as usual, Bambi had already left. _Gone to watch the herd, not doubt,_ she reminded herself, as she often did. "Maria," she called, rousing the fawn from her sleep.

"Yes, Mother?" Maria replied, yawning. She then got up and walked to her mother, who by now was already up and ready to go. "Is it time to go already? But the sun's barely even up."

Faline smiled at the remark, one she'd no doubt made at some point in her childhood years. "Winter's getting closer, Maria. That means the days will be getting shorter." She then began to walk, followed shortly by Maria, who walked with the same pride and smugness that her father had had the day he and Faline had first met.

"Mother, what's winter?" Maria asked, "I know you already told me, but I think I forgot."

"Well," Faline explained, "it's is one of those four seasons that I told you about. Winter is the cold, snowy one."

"I remember now!" Maria exclaimed. "You said it was also the hardest to live in, and when winter comes, we always stick together."

"Yes I did," Faline chuckled, amused at how bright Maria could be at times, and at others, how all it took was a small reminder to keep her from seeming like an utter fool.

"Mother?"

"Hmm?"

"That was all you told me about winter. How come you told me so much more about the other seasons?"

"Well … " Faline began clumsily. She hadn't been prepared for that question. In fact, she hadn't even noticed her lapse in educating her own daughter, though now she realized it had been there, and she knew why. "I-it's just that … there's not quite so much about winter that's … worth knowing."

"Do you not like winter?" Maria inquired. This was definitely one of her seldom moments of that kind of cleverness that you'd only expect from an adult. Not receiving an answer, she continued her impromptu interrogation. "You don't like it, do you? How come?"

"I guess your right." Faline admitted, "I'm not that fond of winter, and I guess it's because that's when I met … "

"Who?"

"Hmm?"

"Met who?"

"No one, dear," Faline replied, trying not to sound too defensive.

"But Mo-ther," Maria implored, pouting and trying to sound hysterical, "I wanna kno-ow. You're not being fair."

"Don't worry." Faline tried to calm her. "You'll find out."

Maria gasped excitedly, realizing she'd won. "When?" she exclaimed.

_With my luck,_ Faline thought, _probably today._ "Oh, it doesn't matter when, dear. You'll find out. Count on it." What truly scared Faline was that, however much she would have wished against it, what she was saying could very well be true.

By now, the two of them had reached the meadow, and they could easily see many other deer playing all around them. There were also several bucks who were running about in a great cluster, with no rhyme or reason. Everyone there seemed to be enjoying themselves simply for the sake of doing so. The only one there who maintained his composure was Bambi, standing atop a large outcropping that overlooked the meadow, as his father before him had done.

"That's Dad, isn't it?" Maria asked excitedly. She had never been to meadow, though she'd often heard of it, and presently she was absolutely overjoyed. "Do you think he can hear us from there?"

"Maybe, probably not," Faline replied. She then ran off, Maria following close behind, toward the other does, who were also with their fawns. When they arrived, Faline commenced to talking with her friends, while Maria joined the other fawns in their games. Occasionally, Faline would glance over to check on her daughter. One particular time, though, she noticed something odd.

Maria and her friends were all chasing each other about their little annex, and there was one fawn in particular who was paying particularly close attention to Maria. _That's the fawn from yesterday!_ Faline observed. All at once, the fawn must have realized he was being watched, for her stopped, followed shortly by Maria, and looked directly at Faline. _Bambi was right,_ Faline understood, for she too could now see what Bambi had seen. _Those eyes. They could only be his. But then, where's—_

Her thoughts were cut short as suddenly, her view became obscured by a shadow that nearly surrounded her. Faline also realized that her friends' voices were altogether gone. Using only her eyes, Faline looked around, and she saw that the other fawns had gone to other parts of the meadow, which could only mean that their mothers had gone first. _It's just me … , _she gulped,_ …_ _and him._ _At least, I think it's him._ She attempted to reassure herself. _After all, it could be someone else entirely, right?_

Finally turning around and looking up, Faline found herself gazing directly into the eyes of the very subject of her suspicions. Those olive green eyes, those antlers, which far surpassed Bambi's in size, that notch in his right ear, and that familiar smirk of his made it all too clear that this could only be … him.

"Hello, Faline … " Ronno said in that smooth, velvet voice of his. "It's been far … too … long … "

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

So blend the turrets and shadows there

That all seem pendulous in the air,

While from a proud tower in the town

Death looks gigantically down.

from "The City in the Sea" by Edgar Allan Poe

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Ooh, spooky, isn't it? I hope I've managed to hold your attention. Stay tuned for chapter three. Hopefully, that'll be up soon, but I'm afraid I can't promise anything. Until then.


	3. Confrontation

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Thanks for staying faithful. I'm sure you've all just been dying of anticipation. Oh, by the way, I've decided to add a few lines of poetry to the end of each chapter, so for those of you who have already read the first two chapters, you may want to look at them again. Anyway, on to chapter three.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 3: Confrontation

Faline knew what she should have done then and there. Years ago, she had learned that Ronno could be quite dangerous, and while he had never physically harmed her per se, he had become more difficult to read since their childhood. So her intuition told her that Ronno could easily hurt her if he so desired. Knowing that this put her in danger at the moment, Faline's instinct told her that there were two options for reacting to her situation: fight or flight. Since fighting was obviously out of the question, her logic told her that the only way out — and in fact the only thing to do — was run.

So intuition, instinct, and logic were all together advising Faline to run, to turn around at that very moment and put as much distance between her and him as she possibly could. _Okay. That's just what I'll do,_ Faline thought as Ronno stood there, waiting patiently a response. However, as strange as was, their seemed to be the tiniest of voices in the back of Faline's mind — her impulse, perhaps —, and it was telling her to stay. Not really telling, actually, but rather offering. It was the kind of idea that one might end with "You know, just a thought." Even stranger was the fact that since first making itself known, the voice grew louder and louder, until it seemed on the brink of overpowering all better judgment. However, Faline remained strong in her belief — and the more reasonable one at that — that the flight response was truly the way to go. Yet strangest of all, was the fact that, even as the more prominent parts of her mind were beginning to reestablish order …

Faline stayed.

_Well, now what?_ she asked herself as she realized how long she'd kept Ronno waiting. _He's obviously waiting for me to say something. But what to say? What to say to a guy the prince forced to leave you alone for the past season? What does he want anyway? Why am I even standing here?_ Suddenly, Faline realized she was only exacerbating the situation. _Maybe if I just say __something__, play dumb, that'll get __him __to do all the talking.__ Anything to keep from saying something that might upset him._ So, she finally decided it was time to speak up. _After all,_ she reminded herself, _I don't exactly know the span of this guy's patience._

"Ronno?" she finally said, "Is that — "

"Really?" he replied melodramatically, "You don't recognize me? Faline I am _shocked_."

_I guess that answers that question,_ Faline remarked as Ronno continued:

"To answer your question, yes. It is me. I'm back, so your little heart can rest easy. I'm sure the uncertainty's just been _nerve __racking_."

_He's kind of right,_ Faline had to admit, considering how stressful the night before had been. In fact, she hadn't fallen asleep until hours after her conversation with Bambi, the thought of her and Ronno's childhood … relationship of sorts — there wasn't a very good word to describe what she'd considered him — plaguing her thoughts.

Suddenly, Faline realized that Ronno had stopped talking and was now staring at her, his eyebrows raised, expecting a reply. "Oh, uh … well, I suppose I have been under some stress lately."

"You poor thing," Ronno said, taking a step toward her. This did not go unnoticed by Faline, who took a step back, though hers was smaller than his.

"So …" she attempted, "What brings you here?"

"What? A guy can't continue to live where he spent most of his life?" Ronno answered sharply, sounding possibly offended and taking another step forward, this one larger than the last. Faline again stepped back, but she was slightly afraid, and this step was much smaller than her last. This put Ronno and her much closer together than she would have preferred, and their proximity made her uncomfortable.

"No," she practically whimpered, scolding herself for sounding so weak. "I-I mean, uh … W-what brings you here … to-to the _meadow_?"

"Oh, right," Ronno said, narrowing his eyes and not bothering to apologize. "Well, the boy wanted to see the place, and I'd already promised him we'd do something fun today, so … figure I'd take him here, maybe he'd meet someone. Speaking of him … " He looked up and over Faline — he was noticeably taller — and called out, "Antony! Come here."

The notorious fawn of the previous day suddenly appeared at Ronno's side. "Yes sir?" he respectfully inquired.

"I have someone I'd like you to meet." Ronno said, not taking his eyes off of the doe in front of him. "Antony, this is Miss Faline. She's an old friend of mine, whom I believe you've already encountered." Faline didn't object to his calling her a friend, simply because she was in the company of his son. Or was that really her reason why?

"Oh … uh, hello … " the fawn muttered, looking at the ground, clearly embarrassed at the mention of his previous misconduct.

"Son, look at her when you talk," Ronno corrected, "Don't you know? We're in the presence of royalty." This was said in that melodramatic tone he'd used earlier. When Antony did look up, Faline smiled warmly down at him, dawning a more calm façade. "Hello, Antony," she said.

"H-hello ma'am," he replied, suddenly growing wide-eyed and beginning to stare, as he had done when he'd first seen Faline. This was quickly noticed by Ronno, who promptly corrected him a second time. "Don't stare son."

"Oh. Yes sir," the fawn replied obediently. Faline wondered if every day was like this for Antony, or if Ronno just wanted him to be polite to her. _That would make sense,_ she thought, _I'm the only deer he was really ever nice to. Even more so than his own mother. Then again, it might just be because I'm "royalty"._

"And who is this?" Ronno exclaimed, interrupting her thoughts. Faline saw that he was smiling down at something, and as she followed his gaze, she saw that Maria was now at her side, being addressed by the one deer in the forest Bambi would have wanted her to keep away from.

"Hi! I'm Maria!" she exclaimed a little too loudly. This didn't seem to startle Ronno, who must have understood where she got it from.

"Well, hello Maria," Ronno answered, sounding suddenly more approachable. "You know, I can take one look at you and tell right away that you're the prettiest deer in the whole forest."

"Really?" Maria said, pretending to sound skeptical, though it was clear that she enjoyed his flattery. "I don't know. Are you sure?"

"Oh yes," Ronno replied, sounding quite sure of himself, "right behind your mother, that is." He glanced back up at Faline to see her reaction, which was some sort of attempt at indifference, though she seemed to have a certain redness to her cheeks that hadn't been there before.

_Stop that, damn it!_Faline yelled inwardly._Why are you blushing anyway? What's the matter with you?_

"So, I guess you two have already met?" Ronno said, still addressing Maria "Or did Antony forget his manners again?"

"Oh, I guess not." Maria replied, realizing that she and her new friend of sorts hadn't bothered to introduce themselves. "Hi Antony, I'm Maria!" she practically shouted, once again, to the other fawn.

Antony's head jerked back, startled by the sudden attention "Uh, hi," he said, again not looking at who he was addressing. Ronno didn't remind him of their respect for royalty, and Faline knew why.

"So, Antony" Ronno interjected, "Why don't you stay here with Maria and actually talk to her, while Miss Faline and I go and catch up?"

"But … " Faline searched for an objection, "I don't want Maria to — "

"Aw, don't worry about her," he replied nonchalantly, "My boy'll take care of her, right Antony?" He turned to his son with an expectant look.

"Yes sir." Antony answered without missing a beat and with a sudden air of pride, as if this were suddenly his chance to prove himself.

"Oh, I don't know … " Faline nearly whined, certain she sounded rather pathetic by now. She looked up to the cliff where Bambi had been and found him pacing back and forth, which meant he was either frustrated or thinking very hard about something. Either way, he wasn't going to see what was going on. _What's he doing up there?_ she wondered.

Looking back at Ronno, she found that he was becoming impatient. Suddenly, however, his face spawned a particularly mischievous look. He then lowered his head and began to step toward Faline, nearly prodding her with his antlers, but not quite. It was just enough to make Faline jump back whenever the points came too close. "Come on Faline," he implored in a jokingly half-pleading, half-insistent tone — at least Faline thought it was joking, though she found that she couldn't really tell with Ronno anymore. "Have a little fun."

Faline remembered two times when he'd done this to her in the past, this method of his of trying to move her, sway her to his will. The firsttime, they had been children, and she had simply found it rather annoying and rude. The second time, when they had been young adults, he had genuilely frightened her. And now, as he once again made this domineering reflection of his own forever-boyish attitude, Faline honestly didn't know what to think. She looked down and saw that, rathar than the stern look he'd worn during this act's past application, his face actually bore a smile. _Maybe he _has _changed. Anyway, I'm sure he can't be as bad now as he was then. After all, we were kids, right?_

Faline looked back up at Bambi, who was still pacing. She looked back at Ronno, who had turned eyes up to see her, his head still lowered. Those green eyes of his seemed to spark for just a moment as he saw the unsure look on her face, and his resulting superior smirk told Faline that he knew he'd already won. He then raised his head, looked directly at her with a smoldering gaze, and said, "So, what do we do now?"

_Damn it!__ Faline thought, __Why'd he have to use _that_one__on me?_

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

On the snow and sand and turn, I see

Where Love has left a printed trace

With straining in the world's embrace.

And such is Love and glad to be

from "Bond and Free" by Robert Frost

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

So many things from the past, and I still refuse to tell you a single one. (No, I'm _not _making this up as I go. I've got it all figured out.) Hopefully, for those among you who keep going back and seeing if they can peace these things together, Mr. Frost has just lent a huge hand. If you're still confused, don't worry. All will be revealed in due time. Ooh, I am such a _tease._


	4. Conflict

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Once again, I've returned to post another chapter. I'd like to ask that more people who read this (provided people are reading this) actually post reviews, and I'd like to thank MOTO for her enthusiastic reviewing. Keep it up, girl. Anyway, here it is.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 4: Conflict

Bambi stood atop the cliff that overlooked the meadow, keeping watch over his herd, as the Great Prince before him had done. _I guess I'm the Great Prince now._ Bambi thought to himself. _That name's gonna take some getting used to. I'm just so accustomed to being called the "Young Prince". I guess I got comfortable with walking in my father's shadow. Or maybe it was because the Young Prince didn't have to do anything. Well, I can't have that, can I? I have to fill my father's hoof prints, and fast._

Bambi realized he'd allowed his thoughts to distract him, and he immediately went back to his observing. He remembered what his father had told him about observing: "You have to look, listen, and smell, all at the same time … Try to feel the forest around you." _Feel the forest._ Bambi reminded himself. As if on cue, he felt something entering the meadow, and he smelled someone familiar. _Faline._ He looked down, and there she was, approaching her friends with Maria at her side. _Good to know they're safe._ he thought — he could never really relax in the morning until he'd assured that they were out of harm's way. _For now, anyway._

"Hello, Princey … " he heard over his shoulder. _Speak of the Devil._

"Hello, Ronno," Bambi answered, recognizing the voice of his old rival anywhere.

"So you _do_ recognize me," Ronno said, still behind him, though closer now. "Glad to see I haven't been forgotten. It woulda been difficult to rebuild a reputation."

"Hm."

By now, Ronno was next to him, overlooking the meadow as well, and Bambi tried not to look at him. "Oh, who's that?" he said, "Who's that fawn there? Is that yours?" Bambi didn't answer. "Must be. She's with Faline."

"Don't you say her name," Bambi finally said.

"Why not? She used to say my name, didn't she?" That comment angered Bambi, but he remembered another one of his father's lessons, that a prince must maintain control and demonstrate dignity at all times. Bambi wouldn't let his anger control him. He'd attacked Ronno before, and he wasn't entirely proud of it.

"And look," Ronno continued, "Now your girl's with — Yes, that's my son Antony! Hope you don't mind, the boy's just really friendly."

Bambi panicked. _She should _not _be with him. Faline, what are you doing?_

"So Princey, you still hang out with the bunny and the skunk?"

In fact, Bambi hadn't seen Thumper or Flower for a very long time. "No," he said.

"Huh," Ronno said thoughtfully, "So I guess that's makes _me_ like your best friend or somethin', huh?"

"Ronno, you were never my friend."

"I can understand that … So, Princey, I got somethin' to ask you: is there such a thing as Princess of the Forest?"

"What?" The question had surprised him enough to make him just barely glance at Ronno, who was still looking stoically down down on the meadow.

"Oh, you know," Ronno continued. "If you ain't got a son, who's to become the next prince? Is it just, you know, up for grabs? 'Cause I always thought Antony was destined for … greatness."

"Hey Ronno," Bambi couldn't stand it. He was ready to speak his mind. "why don't you shut up before I make you run to Mommy?"

"Hey, at least there'd be a mommy for me to run to," he replied earnestly, "which is more than I can say for you, unfortunately," he continued in mock concern.

Bambi looked down, and he knew, he just knew, Ronno was wearing that look of his, that insufferable smirk. "Yeah?" Bambi began his reply. "Well we both had mothers at _some_ point, but at least _I_ had a father, or rather _knew_ my father."

"Ooh, Princey," Ronno said, pretending to sound hurt, "that's a low blow, don't you think?"

"You started it."

"No, you did with the whole 'Make you run to Mommy' comment."

Ronno then turned to leave, and Bambi again barely glanced over to watch. "Oh, and … I thought you oughtta know, I've been thinkin' a lot about Faline lately, and I think she made an error in judgment regarding my … sentence."

"Watch it, Ronno."

Bambi's warning went unheeded. "How do I know? Well, you oughtta know it too. After all, you saw the way she looked at me … when I walked away." That did it. Bambi turned around, looked at Ronno angrily — he saw that Ronno was indeed wearing his signature look — , and charged.

Bambi should have seen it coming. As he was just about to reach his rival, who was making no attempt to charge back at him, Ronno lowered his head, and Bambi was thrown into the air and over his opponent. It had proceeded just as their fight in early adulthood had, except this time, though Bambi had grown as well, Ronno had grown quite noticeably and was very muscular, and his antlers were much larger than Bambi's. So Bambi was thrown much higher than he had been the first time, and he hit the ground much harder and found that he didn't have the strength to get up. He must have landed on that old injury that Man had given during the great fire.

"Bambi, I'm surprised," Ronno said mockingly. "I thought you'd know not to go chargin' into a fight you don't know you can win. What would your dad say?" He then turned once again to leave. "Oh, and speaking of him," he said, glancing over his shoulder, his eyes half-lidded, at Bambi, who was still on the ground, "Antony and I came back here last night to pay our respects. Unfortunately, it was a while after dark, and after we'd chased away some uninvited guests, there wasn't much left for us to have our own viewing."

With that, he turned and left. Bambi, angered and frustrated, began to struggle back to his feet, wincing as he attempted to put weight on his already pained shoulder. Eventually, he was standing on all four feet. Thoroughly distracted from his work, he began to pace back and forth. _Who the hell does he think he is? What right does he even have to come back here? God, I hate that guy!_

By now, Ronno had descended a less sheer side of the cliff and was looking across the meadow at an unwary Faline. Ready to make his move, he checked to make sure the coast was clear. Sure enough, Bambi was up on the cliff, pacing about. _Perfect._

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Never to pass the Angel

With a glance and a Bow

Till I am firm in Heaven

Is my intention now.

from "A Cloud withdrew from the Sky" by Emily Dickinson

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This chapter took place about the same time as Chapter 2, just in case anyone was confused. I was glad this one was shorter. Chapters were getting pretty long. So, as I said, anyone reading this, please review. _Please!_


	5. Escalation

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Hello one (realistically) and all (hopefully), and welcome to Chapter 5, in which the big mystery is revealed, but I'm so cruel, I'm going to tell you that there's no knowing when in the chapter it is. It could be at any point, so you'll just have to read the whole chapter NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 5: Escalation

They were walking through the forest at a leisurely pace. Faline, though she'd calmed down slightly, was still a little uneasy. Ronno was taking her on a very peculiar route, which took them past every place where the two of them had met, though he himself didn't actually mention it. He just asked about how she'd been doing lately.

_That's the groundhog den, where we first met._ Faline had thought. She'd been having to split her focus between noticing these landmarks and listening to Ronno, in case he asked a question.

"So, how've you and the prince been doing?" he asked.

"Oh, fine," she answered, noticing the porcupine's log, where he'd first lost his temper and attacked Bambi. _Though I don't suppose it was unwarranted._

"No _problems_ at all?"

"No. Not at all." Faline was now crossing the log. When Ronno had crossed it, the porcupine hadn't even dared to peek out, and as she did the same, and the beast peeked through a crack in the wood, all it took was a look at Ronno to force him back.

"Huh. Well, that's good I guess. After all, who wants relationship problems? Anyway, I guess the biggest problems you two are gonna get are from that daughter o' yours. She must be a handful."

"Okay Ronno, you can drop the charade," Faline finally blurted, noticing that they'd passed the spot where he and Bambi had fought over her. These days that fight seemed so silly in hindsight. Anyway she'd become annoyed by his feigning obliviousness. "You can speak your mind when it's just us."

"Yeah, sure," he replied. His expression then took a more somber tone. "So, how's the girl been doing?"

"Alright. How about the boy?"

"Fine."

"I see he's been getting plenty of discipline," Faline pointed out. "Maybe too much."

"Maybe Maria's not getting enough," Ronno retorted.

"Don't question the way I raise my daughter," she snapped.

"Fine, but let's not fight here. I like this place."

Faline looked around and saw that they'd gone up the slope of a mountain to a shady, rocky cliff. Midday was just beginning to end, and as the sun crept past the mountain, it's light was cast directly and wonderfully onto them. The light also caused several flocks of bats to fly out of their holes and around the mountain to a darker spot. They didn't scare Faline as they flew by, and the gentle flutter of their leathery wings actually sounded quite musical. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Ronno said, gazing out.

"I guess so," Faline replied, looking around. Then she noticed something odd. From that exact spot, she could easily see the clearing where Bambi had been born, where she had given birth to Maria and her brother, where she slept every night.

"Ronno, how often do you come here?"

Ronno followed her gaze, saw where she was looking, and stuttered out, "O-only about t-twice a month. Just to, to check on you guys, you know? I need to make sure you're alright."

"Yeah … "

Ronno looked at her for a moment, then said something to change the subject. "Hey, you wanna do somethin' fun?"

"What?"

"Follow me."

Ronno led Faline down the slope they'd come up and into another part of the forest, even farther from the meadow. Faline looked back, hoping Maria was okay. _Well, she's got Antony, hasn't she? He seemed like a responsible guy, and there'll probably be something in it for him if he screws it up. What's more, she's got Bambi. Bambi! Oh, I hope he doesn't find out._

…

Bambi was still pacing back and forth, when a very particular thought crossed his mind: _And what _about_ Faline? Why does he have to come dragging her into — Faline!_ Bambi looked down to find Faline — and in fact everyone but Maria and Antony — gone. _How could I have let that happen?_

Bambi leaped down the sheerest side of the cliff — it was the quickest way down — and ran to Maria and Antony. "Maria," he shouted, "come with me!"

…

Meanwhile, Faline and Ronno's doings had taken a turn for the much more … fun, as Ronno had said. They were presently chasing each other about a grove of large trees, laughing all the while. Ronno paused as Faline disappeared behind a particularly large tree, then snuck up toward the side opposite the one she'd rounded. He assumed she'd expect him to follow her exactly, and would be waiting to surprise him, but now the joke would be on her. After all, who was better at booing than him?

However, as looked around the tree, he found nothing. The puzzled Ronno then felt a gentle nip at his tail and turned to see a very giddy Faline bounding away. "Oh, yeah?" he called, then charged after her, feigning child-like rage.

As Ronno landed in front of Faline and lowered his antlers, she decided to play the helpless, innocent damsel in distress. "Oh no, Ronno!" she yelled melodramatically. "Please Bambi, save me!"

"See?" Ronno laughed, raising his head. "Isn't this fun?" He then strolled past Faline, allowing his side to brush against hers. "And to think every day is like this for me and Antony, and all because I'm not some kind of royalty."

…

Bambi galloped through the forest, following Faline's tracks — her scent and Ronno's sort of cancelled each other out, made the two of them together hard to track. The two sets of tracks told him that she'd been with another deer, Ronno, the whole way, and he could see by the linearity of the trail that she hadn't struggled at all and, in fact, had gone willingly.

…

Realization suddenly dawned on Faline, and she saw what Ronno was playing at. She turned to him and said remorsefully, "Ronno, I-I can't … "

"Why not?"

"Because … , I — "

"Faline!" Bambi yelled, surprising both of them.

"Bambi?"

"Faline, are you alright?"

"Yes Bambi," Faline replied, "I'm just fine."

"Well get away from him! He'll hurt you! He's dangerous!"

"Faline, tell him he's wrong." Ronno tried to defend himself.

"Shut up Ronno, before I give you _another_ notch in your ears."

"Don't you threaten me." Ronno growled, obviously about to lose him temper.

"Well maybe I am," Bambi answered, becoming angry himself.

"Guys, please!" Faline interjected. "Bambi, Ronno and I were just — " she then noticed that Maria had arrived alongside Bambi. "Ronno was just leaving."

"But Faline, I — " Ronno attempted before also noticing the fawn's presence. "No she's right. I should leave before I hurt someone," he said, glaring at Bambi. "After all, as you Bambi so keenly put it, if anyone in the forest is likely to hold a grudge, it's me."

He then slowly stalked away, with Bambi staring after him and Faline looking dejectedly at the ground.

"Let's go home," Bambi said.

…

Later, Ronno arrived at the meadow to find Antony waiting for him. "Antony," he said, "I think my prospects have taken a terminal dip."

"Well," Antony said cheerily as they began to walk away, "_I'm_ doing just fine, thank you."

"Are you now?" Ronno replied sarcastically but warmly.

"Yes sir," Antony said in a singsong voice. "I'm in love."

"What?"

"I'm in _love_, Dad! I'm in _love_, and don't care _who_ knows!"

"Really now," Ronno said, "With who?"

"Maria!"

"What?" Ronno's jaw seemed to unhinge itself upon hearing that.

"She kissed me just before she left with her dad. Why? What's wrong?"

"No, no, no! How could I have let this happen? Well I guess I knew there would always be the possibility, but it was never supposed to happen this quickly!"

"Dad, isn't love supposed to be a good thing?" Antony attempted. "Isn't that what being twitterpated is about?"

"Then again, it's not that surprising. After all, _I_ couldn't resist her _mother_, so how could _you_ have resisted _her_?"

"Dad!" Antony shouted. "What's going on?"

Ronno sighed, then decided it was time to come out with it. "Son," he began, "you _can't_ be in love with Maria … She's your _sister_."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

from "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUH!


	6. Genesis

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Wow. This is going really well. I've been able to post a lot more often these days, what with Christmas break and all. Speaking of that, Happy Holidays! And my holiday gift to you shall be … this hot fresh chapter! Oh and by the way, these next few chapters (there will probably be two or three) are flashbacks to before Ronno's "sentence".

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 6: Genesis

The dogs continued to jump against the rock that Faline stood on, clawing at its surface, gnashing their teeth, barking wildly. Faline was beginning to lose hope for herself. All at once, however, those thoughts, along with the dogs, were destroyed as Bambi came charging through them both.

The moment she saw an opening, Faline made a break for it, jumping to the ground and running as fast as possibly could. However, her thoughts weren't entirely on her actions. She couldn't help but truly consider what had just been done for her. After seeing Bambi put his life on the line for her like that, she knew that she would always love Bambi. She was sure, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that for her entire life, Bambi would be the only buck for her, ever.

Faline didn't bother thanking Bambi. She knew she'd be able to do that later. Right now, all that mattered was getting out alive. But which way to go? She was just about to declare herself officially lost when she heard something. She wasn't sure at first that she had truly heard anything, but upon its second sounding, she was sure of it.

It was a voice.

"I'm here," it said. "Hello. It's me."

"Hello?" Faline called. No response.

Then, "This way. It's safe." Faline, seeing no alternative, decided to follow the voice, slowly at first, then slowly picking up speed until she was running at a full gallop. The voice grew louder and louder, until she was certain it had to be nearby. Suddenly, she smelled something unfamiliar. She stopped, looked around, and saw, not more than a few feet from her, none other than the greatest object of fear in the entire forest: Man.

_This is it._ Faline thought. _It's over._ She closed her eyes helplessly. _There's nothing left. _However, and Faline couldn't say why this was, something compelled her to open her eyes. She did, and as she had expected, Man was still there, now with his rod of death raised to his shoulder, a sign that she was doomed. However, contrary to her expectations, there was now someone else, someone very familiar to her. Faline didn't know whether to be thankful or alarmed at this new arrival, for the one creeping up behind Man was, in fact, Ronno.

Faline looked into Ronno's olive eyes and saw only hate for Man, hate for anyone who would harm her. It was, frankly, a bit frightening. Faline saw a look in Man's eyes as well, and although she didn't know Man's looks, it seemed to be one of blind determination. Man wanted her, wanted her dead. He lived to kill, and she was the one he wanted next. She began to fret. As determined as Ronno looked to save her, Man looked more determined to kill her.

Finally, as Faline was once again about to lose hope, Ronno pounced. As Man fell to the ground with a wail, an enormous bang erupted from the rod, but Faline felt no pain. It must have pointed away from her as Man had fallen. Ronno then jumped to Faline's side and looked her in her still panicked eyes. "Let's go," he said.

"But what about Man?" Faline answered.

"What _about_ Man?" Ronno retorted.

"What if he gets up?"

"He won't get up." At that remark, Faline looked up and saw that the points of Ronno's antlers were stained red. _I guess he's gotten meaner since we were kids. Kind of scary._ With that thought, Faline nodded to Ronno, and the two of them took off. For a while they were just running, not looking at each other. Later, though Ronno continued not to look at Faline, too focused on where he was going, Faline ventured a glance at him every so often. _Why?_ she thought to herself. _Why did he save me? Why does he care? Just today, he was treating me like an object. So why — ?_ Faline's thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly felt herself tripping over something. As she struck the ground, she looked back to see what it was.

It was a dog.

Not just any dog, but the biggest, most vicious looking dog Faline had ever seen in her entire life. She couldn't help but tremble as the beast lurked forward, snarling louder and drooling more as each step brought it closer to its prey. But just as it stared into her eyes, not three inches from the tip of her nose, it disappeared. Faline saw Ronno now standing in it's place and realized that the dog had been thrown over, and since she was now between it and its new enemy, she promptly dashed out of the fray.

The creature quickly sprang for its opponent, but Ronno was smooth to react. He hopped to the side and brought his antlers down hard on his foe. However, while Ronno's head was lowered, the dog sucked up the pain, if it could truly feel any, reached up, and sunk its teeth into Ronno's neck. Ronno did no more than grunt to acknowledge his injury, though it had to be excrutiating, then immediately pulled his back up. However, since the dog wouldn't let go, this only pulled it off the ground with him and increased the pain of the bite and causing blood to leak from the dog's jaws. Though he fought with all his might, Ronno was quickly forced to fall. As soon as the other was down, the beast once again turned it attention to Faline.

As the instrument of Death itself stalked toward her, Faline tried her best to back away, but feeling so helpless, she ultimately found herself freezing up with fear. The dog rushed toward her, and even as she reared up to avoid its bite, it still managed to get a hold of her leg. Faline cried out as the pain shot up her leg and through her body. She couldn't remember ever really being hurt before, and this was a horrible way to be introduced to it. The dog then proceeded to try to pull her down and give itself a better shot at her neck, and for all Faline's efforts, she just couldn't match the beast's strength.

_Oh Ronno, please, _please_ save me!_ Faline screamed in her head. Despite Ronno's involvement in the day's prior events, she truly wanted, with all her heart, for him to get up and help her, but as his head only continued to rest in a slowly growing pool of blood, hope for Faline seemed to be slowly disappearing. Finally, the creature leaped up to strike the coup de gras, and Faline couldn't help but clench her eyes once more out of abject fear.

She felt nothing. Opening her eyes, she saw Ronno, standing before her, panting and looking down, with blood dripping from his neck and trickling down his chest and forelegs. Looking around, Faline found the dog, lying crippled against a tree, completely motionless and thoroughly dead.

Looking back at Ronno, Faline saw him looking at her leg. He took gulp and said, "You alright?" followed by a cough containing droplets of blood.

"Well, of course _I'm_ alright. But are _you_?" Faline replied.

"Ah, don't worry 'bout me. I'll be fine."

Faline felt tears welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, she burst out crying and caressed his cheek with hers, not caring about the blood that was undoubtedly spreading itself across her neck. "Oh Ronno, thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

"Yeah, well … " Ronno began, pulling away after giving her a moment, "Don't be so eager to reward me yet, sweetie. I still gotta getcha outta here." He paused for a moment, sniffed at the air, then said, "Say, you smell somethin' … bad?"

Faline sniffed at the air, though having cried, it was somewhat difficult to breathe through her nose. However, she could indeed smell something … bad, but what? They both turned toward the origin of strange smell, and then, they saw it.

The enormous fire before, lapping at the air with its tongues of flame — like huge, horrible snakes they were — seemed like a great, terrible wolf, savoring the final moment before the kill. And then, all at once, this new beast lunged forward, and all was consumed. Trees fell down in fear, bushes collapsed in anguish, and the grass all but disappeared in the quickly growing inferno. Faline and Ronno had mere moments to react before the flames had reached them. They both spun around, leaped just out of reach of terrible jaws, and hit the ground running.

They ran for what felt like hours. They ran for all that their lives meant to them. They ran as their world literally fell apart around them. And when it finally seemed that they'd run enough, they were wrong, and they ran even longer. All at once, as it began to seem that they would never reach the end of this Hell, the last of the fire was at their backs, and the danger was averted, for them at least.

…

Eventually, they found a small island in the middle of a lake, where while Ronno lay near the water, doing what he could to tend to the wounds on his neck, Faline watched in absolute horror as the forest burned. The flames reached at least twice as high as the tallest trees and stretched across the entire length of the forest. And as Faline and everyone else the forest knew, fire left nothing. It took no pity, destroyed what it wanted, killed indiscriminately. It might as well have been an instrument of Man.

Faline couldn't watch anymore. She turned away and looked for something else to do. _But what _to_ do? _she wondered, _What to do while everything you knew is being destroyed?_ Suddenly, she noticed Ronno, who was awkwardly trying to look down at his own neck. _Well,_ she remarked, _it's somethin'. Oh God, now I'm talking like him._

As Faline tentatively approached Ronno, she took notice of the many scars down his back and, of course, the notch in his ear. _He'll probably treat your concern with indifference, the whole "Ah, it's nothin', I've had worse." idea. But don't let that discourage you._ Faline then lay down next to him and asked, "Ronno, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine," he answered bluntly, going back to his attempt at cleaning his wounds.

"Do you need any help with that?"

"Uh … " Ronno looked at the blood on his neck. "Maybe?"

"Here, let me," Faline offered, then without awaiting a reply, wet the side of her face in the lake and began to rub the water across his thin but muscular neck. The blood had ceased to leave the wounds. Now it was a simple matter of cleaning it up. However, even as the last of the red stains was removed from his fur, Faline continued to rest her cheek against Ronno's chest.

"Uh … Thanks," Ronno stated awkwardly, causing Faline to realize what she was doing and pull back.

"Ronno?" she asked after looking around to make sure they were the only ones on the island.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"What happened today?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean, what happened to _you_? What made you change? I mean, midday you treat me like I can be owned, and just now you risk life and limb to save me? What happened?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ronno said, looking away and sounding indifferent. "Maybe that fall the prince gave me knocked some sense into me. Maybe I had some kinda existential experience. Maybe I just hate Man. Whatever happened, I had a hard think about the way I act around you and why."

"Okay," Faline replied. "Go on."

"Well, it's like this: at first, it was all about Bambi. See, he was born into royalty, so he gets whatever he wants, no matter _what_. I don't like that. I was born inta nothin', don't know my dad is, an' whaddo _I_ get in return? A big, fat notch in my ear from man when he tries ta knock off my mom. Ya see what I'm gettin' at?"

"I suppose."

"Anyway, so when I meet Bambi, an' I hate ta say it like this, but I kinda hate his guts. An' I guess I kinda tried ta keep ya away from him 'cause you woulda just been one more thing he'da got without havin' ta work for it.

"But eventually, that was only part of it. I guess, more recently, I've been gettin' some … y'know … some genuine feelin's for you. An' today, well, when I saw ya runnin' with His Majesty, I guess I got kinda mad. I couldn't let him have it. It wouldn'ta been fair. I know I must sound like a real jackass right now, an' I prob'ly am, so … " He then got up. "I guess I should go, right?"

"No Ronno, please," Faline implored. "I-I … " She then looked back at the burning forest. "I don't wanna be alone."

"Alright," Ronno replied, then lay down once more. Faline edged closer, so that their sides were touching. She also barely, just barely, leaned against him.

"So," she said, "you were saying … "

"Well," Ronno continued, "I guess I got a little too mad, and when Bambi through me inta that river, I looked in the water, and I didn't know who I was lookin' at. I'm not gettin' poetic here. I honestly didn't recognize myself. But then I remembered, and I got mad again, mad at myself, for what I'd turned into.

"Anyway, I kinda wandered off and had that good, hard think I toldja about. I thought about me and … him and … you, and I realized the real reason I'd been chasin' after you all along."

"What's that?" Faline asked, though she suspected she already knew the answer.

"I love you, Faline. I always have, and I always will. I love you."

And then Faline was so lost his last three words that that moment was all that mattered to her. She became so enraptured that she didn't care about anything that happened to her after that night. She didn't care anymore. That was it.

"So," Ronno said, "What do we do now?"

And then, they kissed.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

For each ecstatic instant

We must an anguish pay

In keen and quivering ratio

To the ectasty.

from "For Each Ecstatic Instant" by Emily Dickinson

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

To see the next chapter, visit Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, I was trying to cast Ronno in a more likable light in this chapter, maybe even as a hero. Tell me what you think. Laterz!


	7. Exodus

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Not much to say. This is going to be another flashback chapter. It will probably be the last flashback chapter, but maybe not. Anyway, here it is.

* * *

Chapter 7: Exodus

As Faline lay in the clearing, with her two newborn children curled up against her, she couldn't help but feel the most nervous she could remember ever feeling in her entire life. She hadn't been listening to the other citizens of the forest fawned over her fawns. She had more important things to think about.

_What happens when he gets back?_ she wondered. _Oh, you know exactly what's going to happen,_ she answered. _He'll confront you. He'll ask. It'll come out. It has to come out. Oh, but I can't. He'll hate me. Well it's your own damn fault!_ Faline quickly realized that she was allowing her situation to drive her insane. _Well why shouldn't it?_ she asked herself. _It's the biggest mistake you've ever made, ever!_

Faline decided to stop thinking about what she knew would eventually happen anyway. _That'll only make things worse,_ she reminded herself. So she listened.

"Prince Bambi ought to be mighty proud," she heard the owl say. Faline looked up and saw, through a gap in the branches of the trees, Bambi looking down at her from above. Faline quickly looked away and used answering the owl as an excuse for doing so.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, very proud indeed."

Slowly, the viewers dispersed, until only Thumper and his four children, whom he and his mate had produced expeditiously since their first meeting, remained. "So, whatcha gonna call 'em?" Thumper inquired.

"You know Thumper," Faline replied, "I hadn't thought of it."

"Well, do you wanna think of it now?"

"Well," Faline pondered, feigning actual interest in the fawns names — she'd always been too occupied to think of it until now — , "I suppose I'll call the girl Maria." She said this gesturing to the lighter fawn. "And the boy I'll call … " she looked at the darker fawn with bright blue eyes, like hers. "Matthew."

"Hm. Okay. Yeah, those're good names," Thumper remarked somewhat skeptically as he began to hop away, followed by his own children. Faline doubted that he knew it, but there were times when Thumper came off sounding awfully rude, but his intentions were pure, so this was never mentioned.

_Finally,_ she thought, _I might get a moment of piece._

"Yes," she heard, "those are good names." Faline looked over her shoulder and saw Bambi entering the clearing. _Well,_ she thought, _here we go._

"You must have had a lot of time to think of such great names," Bambi said.

"No," Faline answered. "In fact, I only thought of them just now."

"Huh. So I guess something's been bothering you, enough to make you forget to think of names for you children." Faline didn't answer. "Well?"

"I suppose so," she said timidly.

"Well, never mind that. I have something to talk to you about." Faline gulped inaudibly — or at least she hoped it was inaudible. "But first," he said, "I noticed something: I can definitely see you in these fawns. One has your tone of fur, and the other has your eyes. But can you see me at all?" Faline was becoming more nervous with each passing moment.

"Anyway," he continued, "I think it's time we truly discussed the elephant in the room." He then looked away, sighed, and continued. "Faline, whose children are those?"

"What?" Faline replied, trying to sound encredulous.

"Faline, I'm not a fool," Bambi said, "and my father may not have been the best father in the forest, but he did teach me … that. And I _know_ that we never _did_ … that."

"Oh," Faline slowly replied, suddenly feeling trapped.

"And this" Bambi continued, "begs the question: who is the father of those fawns?"

"I-I … I … " Faline stammered.

"Well?" Bambi was starting to get angry.

"I can't tell you," she cried desperately, on the verge of tears.

"Why not?"

"Because," she said with tears rolling down her face, "if I do, if I tell you, you'll hate me. You'll hate me for the rest of your life. Every time you see these fawns, you'll hate me."

"Faline," he said as he slowly approached her, "I don't think there's anything you can say that could make this any worse for you." Faline just looked away. "Faline, I have to know."

"I can't tell you," Faline whimpered.

"Damn it, Faline! Who is it?"

"It's me!" came a new voice. "Now leave … her … alone."

…

Ronno lay outside the clearing, waiting for Bambi and Faline's discussion to end. He wasn't taking kindly to the idea of leaving the two of them alone, even though Faline had told him it would be fine. She had told him that, once she and Bambi had sorted this out with each other, the matter would be open to discussion.

Faline had, in fact, been the one to finally persuade Ronno to leave her and Bambi alone for the time being. When Bambi had ordered him to go away, he had openly refused, declaring that no one, not even he, Ronno, acted rationally when angry, that he wouldn't leave Faline as long as Bambi might be a threat to her, and that furthermore, he took orders from no one, not even the Great Prince, and certainly not his son, who still had yet to succeed to any true authority. These of course had not been Ronno's actual words, _But if I went back an' did it over,_ he had since decided, _I'da said it somethin' like that._ He still hated to leave them alone. _She trusts him too much,_ he thought,_ way too much._

"We've reached a decision," he heard Bambi say from behind him. He turned around to see the Young Prince standing at the entrance to the clearing, straight and tall, with an air of quiet dignity, probably to make up for his prior outburst. "And just so you know, she is the mother and knows what's best for them, I let her come up with the whole thing. So I don't see you disagreeing with her, right?"

"Whatever," Ronno said in an aloof tone as he skulked past his rival. Doing so, he intentionally brushed against Bambi's side rather roughly, fully aware of the pain it caused as it nudged Bambi's weight onto the opposite leg, the one that was pained by his injury. And since it was on the opposite side, this pain looked unintended by Ronno, though the original act still conveyed disrespect. _Guess I'd like it if he knew I meant it,_ Ronno considered, _but we can't have it all, can we?_

As the two of them entered the clearing, Bambi did his best to maintain his composure, though he couldn't help shooting Ronno a dirty look, and Ronno still looked as uncaring as ever, though he was actually holding back a smirk of satisfaction at Bambi's response to his mischief. They found Faline waiting for them, standing by the two fawns, who were still asleep — it was strange that all the conversation hadn't woken them. She was looking down, either shamefully or to hide her feelings. There was moment in which no one dared brake the silence, Bambi to let Faline know that she had the floor, Faline out of fear of what she was about to do, and Ronno because he wouldn't have known what to say.

"Ronno," Faline finally said, causing Ronno's gaze to jupm to her, though she was still looking down, "I've decided that … you'll take one, and we'll keep the other."

"Okay," Ronno answered, just above a whisper.

"You may have the darker one," she continued. "He looks more like you. We'll keep the girl."

"What's his name?" Ronno asked.

"Matthew."

"Can I give him another one? He'll keep the first one. This'll just be a second one. Can I do that?"

"Yes," Faline replied, "You may. Anyway, we're going to need a plan for this, so: you and the boy will have to leave this area, go to another part of the forest. You can't do this until he's beyond nursing age. He won't remember me, and he won't be able to talk, but he'll be able to walk and … live without his mother." She didn't dare remind Bambi of who that mother was.

"So whaddo we do ta explain how he just disappears?" Ronno inquired.

"_I'll_ do that," Bambi interjected. "I'll tell everyone in the forest he died in his sleep. I'll say we have no idea how it happened, and that we don't want to have a funeral."

"Okay," Ronno said patiently. "Then what?"

"This is the part we disagreed on," Bambi responded, "but as I said, I let Faline decide." He then looked to Faline, prompting her to explain.

"After he's old enough to talk, and you've made sure he doesn't remember who his mother is, the two of you may return and rejoin the herd."

"Alright," Ronno said. Though he was eager to agree with Faline, he honestly believed that given the circumstances, it was the best plan available to them, _Except o' course for lettin' _me _and _her_ raise 'em,_ he thought, _which o' course _had_ ta be outta the question._ "So," he said, "I guess I better go." He had decided by now that Bambi was calm enough to be trusted, and that since their plan had been explained to him, there was no further reason for his presence.

"Yes, you should," Bambi said rather spitefully. He hadn't wanted to deal with Ronno from the beginning. _So what if they're his?_ he'd thought. _This _isn't_ his problem anymore._

"Bambi," Faline implored, "don't be — "

"No," Ronno said, not wanting Faline to possibly anger him. "No, he's right. I'll go." With that, he began to leave, and as he did, Faline couldn't help turning to look at him, watch him with the slightest visage of sadness as he walked away. Ronno took notice of this as he took one last look back, giving her a final smile before once more turning away.

Bambi saw it too, and though he didn't let it show, the sight angered him more than he'd ever thought anything could. However, he couldn't let Faline see it. But he still had to tell Ronno off. "By the way, don't come to us," Bambi said as he watched his hated rival stalk away. "I'll tell you when it's time."

"Bambi," Faline implored, "don't — "

"Faline, how do you _expect_ me to treat him?" Bambi responded, either not noticing or not caring that Ronno had paused to remain within earshot. "He wouldn't treat me any differently. After all, if anyone in the forest is likely to hold a grudge, it's him."

Ronno didn't respond.

…

Several weeks later, Ronno returned, following Bambi, to that same clearing. The day had finally come. _I finally get to leave with him,_ Ronno thought anxiously, though trying not to let it show. _I finally get to see my son._

They arrived at the entrance to the clearing, where Faline waited with the same fawn by her side. He was looking around and seemed very curious, though not curious enough to leave his mother. _That's gonna be a problem,_ Ronno thought.

"Hello," Ronno said to Faline as he approached her. Arriving before her, her looked down at the fawn who upon seeing him — he'd been preoccupied with watching a nearby butterfly — began to stare up at him. "Hey Matthew," Ronno said to his son. "Ready to go?"

"Don't talk," Bambi said. "Just leave."

"Fine." Ronno then took a step toward the fawn, only for the fawn to step underneath his mother, looking out timidly from between her forelegs. Ronno continued to approach, causing the child to only withdraw further, lowering himself to the ground and beginning to shake tremulously, still staring up at the stranger.

However, the fawn eventually became calm once more. Once he'd stopped trembling and slowly stood up, Faline took a few steps back, exposing him completely to his father's gaze. Ronno smiled warmly and said, "Come on," in the kindest voice he could create. The fawn took a few careful steps toward him. Upon the fawn's reaching him, Ronno jerked his head, signifying a request to follow him and said, "Let's go."

The fawn looked back to see that his mother was gone. Bambi was as well, but he didn't seem to notice. He began to go back, but Ronno quickly stepped in front of him and said, "No. We have to leave. Matthew, you have to let her go." The fawn looked back up at him with a confused, desperate, and most of all sad look in his shining blue eyes.

Ronno sighed and tried to think of something to say. "You're mother … can't be with you … anymore." He said this looking straight ahead, as he'd been while thinking, and when he looked down, he saw a single tear sliding down the fawn's cheek. "Come," he continued, "my son."

And then, they left.

…

Ronno stood atop a ridge on the base of a mountain. It was placed just so that he could see that infamous clearing if he looked from the right spot. He didn't come here because he couldn't forget, as though some might believe if they knew his story. He came here so he would forget. Every time he looked at that place, the place where his fate and those of Bambi and Faline had been bound, twisted and tied together forever, though it conjured up so many retrospective thoughts, it made the memories sit more quietly in the end. _I'm here to forget,_ Ronno reminded himself. _I'm here to forget._

He stood and waited. For what he wasn't sure, but still he waited. Then, a voice. Next to him. "Dad?" it said.

"Hmm?" he responded without looking to his son.

"What're you doing?"

"Observing," he said, knowing he'd already taught his young son what the word meant.

"Oh. Observing what?"

Ronno knew the fawn wasn't tall enough to see what he could, so he knew he wouldn't have to tell him the truth. "The trees," he said.

"Huh. They _do_ look nice in the fall." Ronno thought it strange that his son was so much more sentimental than him, and also so curious, and yet so timid. _He must get it from her,_ he thought.

Then, he saw what he must have been waiting for. _Speak of the Devil._ As Faline stepped into the clearing, accompanied by his daughter, her daughter, their daughter, he felt a certain peace. He wanted to feel that — or rather see them — up close. _Maybe it's time we go back._

"Son?" he said. "Have I ever told you about your mother?" He still wasn't looking at his son. Faline seemed too transfixing.

"No," the fawn replied. "No you haven't."

"Hmm. Do you remember her at all?"  
"No. Maybe. Kinda."

"Do you remember much?"

"No, I got not. Can you tell me about her?"

"Well," Ronno began, "she kind, gentle, caring, and so, so beautiful. The most beautiful deer I'd seen before or since."

"Wow," the fawn mused. Being so imaginative, as Ronno knew he was, the child was probably conjuring up all manner of fanciful imagery.

"You have her eyes, you know," Ronno stated.

"Really?"

"Yes. Those beautiful, blue eyes."

"Dad?" the fawn said carefully.

"Yeah?"

"Will I ever see her?"

Ronno paused for a moment at this, considering. _Should he have the right to know his mother? Should I give him the chance I never had? I should, but would it be right? He'd never get to live with her. Princey wouldn't allow it. And anyway, it wouldn't be fair to her._

"No," he finally said. "She's gone."

"Oh, okay," his son replied, sounding somewhat disappointed, but not too much so. "Uh, Dad?" he said. "It's getting dark. Shouldn't we go home?"

Ronno narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at his forbidden love, who was now curling up alongside their child. "Yes," he said. "Let's go home … Antony."

* * *

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

from "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening", by Robert Frost

* * *

Finally, flashbacks over. Back to the main plot … sort of. The next chapter will include a retelling of Chapter 1 from Ronno and Antony's point of view. That'll be cool, right? We don't _have_ to get back to the main plot _yet_, right? DON'T PRESSURE ME! Anyway, for those of you who prefer shorter chapters, I'm sorry this one was so long. I just had to get a certain amount into one chapter, and it came out … pretty damn big, but that's excusable, _RIGHT?_ Anyway, next chapter comin' up! It make take a while though. Back to school and everything. Seeya!


	8. Realization

Formality: I do not own or claim to own the Bambi series or any of its characters. Their rights belong to Disney. I do not make any money or claim to do so through this fanfiction.

Wow. Been over a year since Chapter 7. I'm really sorry it took so long. I was too busy to write for a while. Then I just lost interest. But the other the day, I decided I owe it to the readers to finish this. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. By the way, it begins with Ronno recalling the events of Chapter 1.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Chapter 8: Realization

Ronno stood just outside the meadow, looking for his son. As had come to be expected often, Antony had decided to wander off again. _You can't take your eyes off the kid for one second,_ Ronno thought as he scanned the meadow for the little runaway. He had already noticed the crowd at the center of the meadow. Bambi was at the head of the assembly, standing atop a small boulder, and the Great Prince of the Forest was nowhere in sight. _Well, I guess we all knew it would happen eventually._

Suddenly, Ronno found just who he'd been looking for. However, his feelings of relief immediately turned to panic as he realized the situation: not only had his son placed himself in full view of the new Prince of the Forest, which would surely not sit well with him, he happened to be standing next to the very doe that Ronno had been required to keep him away from for the past season. Luckily, it appeared that Faline had not yet taken notice of Antony, who at the moment was staring up at her, looking rather fascinated. However, Bambi definitely had noticed him, as he was currently staring down at the unknowing fawn.

Ronno was about to end the mishap, when for one moment, he took notice of the fawn to Faline's other side. _Maria,_ he thought, _you're just as pretty as your mother,_ but in another moment, Faline was looking down at Antony, and Ronno mentally scolded himself for being so foolish. Just as Antony looked away for his mother long enough to make eye contact with Bambi, Ronno stamped his hoof into the ground, hard enough for Antony to feel it. In another moment, the fawn was running, looking rather guilty, back to his father. Ronno started to walk away, not waiting for his son to reach him first.

As Antony caught up to him, Ronno didn't waist time in dealing with him. "Antony né Matthew," he inquired firmly, "what have I told you about running off?"

The boy looked down and quietly replied, "Don't do it."

"And what do we do," Ronno continued, in a somewhat gentler voice, "when we've done something we shouldn't have?"

"We say we're sorry."

"And are you?"

"Yes sir."

"Well," Ronno said, changing his tone to a much kinder one as he began to walk again, "did you at least see anything interesting on your little getaway?"

"Well," he excitedly replied, "there was this funeral or something going on, and the guy's son is gonna be the new Prince of the Forest. _I_ think he looked like kind of a wuss."

_Ha, a chip off the old block._ Ronno thought.

"But that's not the best part," Antony continued.

"Really!" Ronno said, humoring his son. "And what _was_ the best part?"

"The best part was who I was standing next to," Antony answered excitedly.

"What?"

"I think it was my mother!"

By this point, Ronno had already stopped, and he now turned completely toward his son, indicating he wanted his son's full attention. "Son, what did I say about your mother?" he said in a very dire tone.

Antony, taken by surprise, stuttered out the usual reply: " … Th-that she's … gone."

"Exactly," Ronno said sternly.

"But I'm sure it was her. She had my—"

"Antony!"

Antony was now frightened and looked away. Ronno immediately tried to calm himself and replied in a smoldering tone, "She is _not_ coming back." The child still looked away. "Antony né Matthew, do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Antony muttered, soft and submissive.

Ronno felt disappointed in himself for reacting so harshly, but he dared not apologize. He couldn't compromise with himself in these matters. They weren't his to control.

"I just want you to be raised right," he said. It was the best explanation he could give without saying anything he shouldn't say, and he didn't expect the fawn, still so young, to understand. He turned away and said, in a calm, unaffected voice, "Let's go."

Before following, Antony asked, "Will we come back here?"

"Of course," Ronno said, not looking back. Antony then began to follow him and was soon at his side. "We'll come back after dark to pay our respects," he continued. "Then we'll come back tomorrow. By then, this place will have livened up a bit."

"You mean it'll be more fun?"

"Of course."

And with that, they left.

…

Ronno stood on that cliff from which could see so much. At that spot, he had done so much already. It had become a place where the world stood still, where all bothersome concerns would cease, and one could take a moment to sort out one's troublesome thoughts. Things always seemed easier as long as one could think. He sighed and closed his eyes, the memory of that day jarring him into a deep, thoughtful state.

_He would be so happy with her,_ he thought, and that started it. One thought after another wove throughout his mind, each an independent entity in itself, yet somehow connecting to all the others. _He wishes he could have a mother. He knows who she is. He's suffered so much. We all have. This is my doing. None of us are happy. We're all lying. The children are being lied to. The boy knows. It hurts so much. They should all be happy. I've made it all worse. What can I do?_

Suddenly, he felt something approaching, and his thoughts left him as quickly as they had come. He opened his eyes, ready to show himself once more. At that point, he turned to see who was coming.

It was Faline and Maria. He suddenly felt taken off guard and quickly composed himself once more.

"Hello," he said, approaching them briskly.

"Hello," Faline answered calmy.

"Hi mister!" Maria exclaimed.

"Hello Maria," he said endearingly, smiling down at her, "What brings you two here?"

"Well," Faline began, "I wasn't so sure about it, but Maria just _had_ to see Antony again."

"Yeah!" Maria exclaimed, hopping excitedly in place. "We had so much fun yesterday. I thought he'd like to see me again."

Ronno pondered for a moment whether this could lead to any unfavorable turns. _No, _he decided. _I can trust my own son._

"Then follow me," he said, more to Maria than to Faline. He then turned and led them to his and Antony's home.

"So Maria," he inquired, "you must really like Antony. Am I right?"

"Oh yes mister," Maria replied, beaming, "I like him a lot."

"Well that's good," he offered, making sure his unrest didn't show. "You know, he hasn't really had many friends most of his life. It's good to know someone had enough sense to like the kid."

"That's silly," she laughed. "How could such a sweet guy not have any friends?"

Ronno didn't answer.

They walked a short distance farther, in silence, until they reached a large cave at the base of a mountain, the same mountain that possessed the ledge Ronno and Faline had looked from the day before. Ronno looked at Maria for a moment before jerking his head toward the cave's entrance. Maria took the hint, smiling giddily, and was about dash inside but was promptly interrupted:

"Now Maria … " Faline said, causing the fawn in question to stop in her tracks. She then leaned down to be at eye level with the fawn before continuing: " … remember that your father isn't exactly aware that we're here."

"Right," Maria answered. "He doesn't like it when I run off."

"Exactly. So, we can't keep him waiting for long. He'll get worried."

"Okay."

"So please make this a short visit," Faline concluded with a sincere smile.

"Alright," the child conceded.

"Good." Faline then returned to her full height. "Now run along."

"Okay!" Maria exclaimed, brightening up already, before turning and bolting into the cave.

Ronno and Faline, now alone, sighed in unison before regarding each other uncertainly.

"So," Ronno attemped, "I, uh … I suppose you wanted to see me too?" He was too distressed to look Faline in the eye, instead looking the ground, stamping at the grass as though preoccupied.

"Yes," she answered. "I feel like we didn't really get to speak yesterday. Not as much as we should have."

"Well, what's on your mind?"

The problem was, Faline didn't know what was on her mind. She thought for a moment. A thought came to mind, and she acted on it.

"What were you doing yesterday?" she asked. "Getting me to leave with you and … frolic like a little fawn. What was that about?"

Ronno chuckled at the thought. "To tell you the truth," he began, "I don't really know what I was doin'. I guess I just missed you or something." He wished he could look at her as he spoke. Somehow, her question seemed to be repressing him.

Faline, now more confident at the sight of Ronno's wavering, pressed on: "Oh, I think there was more to it than that. You were trying to get me to run away with you."

He didn't answer.

"Did you really think it would work?" Faline asked sincerely. However, the growing look of shame on Ronno's face indicated that those words should not have been spoken, however sincerely.

"I'm … I'm sorry." Ronno mumbled.

Feeling guilty, Faline approached him and nuzzled his downturned face gently. "Ronno," she implored, pulling back to look at him directly, "we're adults now. I don't deny that a part of me loves you, but some things simply can't be. While I _am_ torn between you and Bambi, I have a responsibility to the Great Prince of the Forest. We all have a responsibility to uphold."

Ronno sighed. "Yeah. I've been thinking about responsibility a lot lately."

…

Within the tunnel that was the cave's beginning, Maria found a large cavern that was surprisingly well lit. She looked up and found that a hole, set high up in one of the chamber's walls, was the source of this illumination. The sun was setting, and its light passed directly through the shining portal, cutting brightly through the emptiness.

In the midst of her studies, Maria heard an all too familiar voice call out to her:

"Maria?" it intoned. "Is that you?" The owner the voice then stepped into the spacious column of light she'd just been observing.

"Antony!" she exclaimed before galloping to the same spot. Dispensing with any other greeting prerequisites, she met him with an affectionate kiss one cheek. She then stepped back, giggling at her own impulsiveness. Antony laughed too, a forced, nervous laugh. "What's wrong?" she inquired.

"Oh!" Antony blurted out. "Nothing. What's up?"

Maria wasn't falling for his act. "Are you hiding something?" She then smiled, excited at the prospect. "What is it? Tell me!"

Antony laughed again, the same laugh as before. "I don't know what you're talking about," he attempted. "Anyway, what's up?"

Maria's smile drooped into a dissatisfied pout. "You're no fun," she mumbled.

"Uh … Sorry to disappoint you."

"Whatever," she replied nonchalantly. She then looked around the cavern, as she had before. "So, do you and your dad live here?"

Antony, glad to change the subject, replied: "Yeah. We've been here a few days now. Pretty cool, huh?"

"It's so different from the forest," Maria said absentmindedly, still looking around. The walls were solid rock, the floor hard and unforgiving. On one wall, she noticed a tiny stream of water sliding down to the floor, making the rocks shimmer against the surrounding darkness. "It's nice in a way, though."

"Yeah," Antony agreed. "Dad says he likes a place to rest his eyes at the end of the day. He likes to get away from everything, so he can think. He says things are easier when you can think about them."

Hearing him speak so much of his father, Maria returned her gaze to Antony. "You really like your dad, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Sure, he can be … strict – I guess that's the word for it, – but he just wants to make sure I'm raised right. That's what he always says. Anyway, it's hard for him to take care of me all by himself, and I have to be there to make it easier for him."

Maria considered his words. "That's really nice," she said. "My dad can be tough too sometimes. But I don't think it's the same as you and your dad. He's got Mom to help raise me right." She paused, thinking, before continuing: "Plus, he's actually more strict to her than me. Me and him don't do much together. It's strange. Sometimes he looks at me funny, kinda like … like I'm something he hasn't seen before. I dunno. What do you think?"

"Um … " Antony couldn't answer. He just pursed his lips, looking nervous and guilty. He was afraid he knew what to say, but that he shouldn't say it. He wasn't even supposed to know what he knew. But the way she looked at him, so innocent, with those deep, hazel eyes, he felt it wrong to withhold the truth from her.

This state he was in did not go unnoticed. Maria regarded Antony with a sidelong glance. "What're you doing?" she asked suspiciously. "You're hiding something again, I know it."

Feeling threatened, Antony backed away, but Maria, not to be ignored, only followed. Soon, they were out of the light, Antony with his side turned to her, his other side touching the wall. This wall happened to be the one dripping with water, and as the cool, unforgiving liquid slid over him, he began to quickly lose what remained of his mettle.

"Well?" she demanded, having lost her good nature completely. "Tell me!"

Antony dropped to the floor and turned his face to the wall, afraid of what might happen if he didn't obey but also of what would happen if she heard the truth. Overwhelmed and unable to hold out against the feeling, he gave the only answer that felt safe:

"My name is Antony né Matthew. My father is Ronno. And that's all that matters!" He then began to sob quietly, feeling helpless and pathetic.

Maria only stared. She was confused by his answer, angered by the knowledge that he was clearly still hiding something, and altogether frustrated. With an agitated groan and a conclusive huff, she turned stalked toward the cave's exit.

However, in the moments it took her to reach the tunnel that would lead her out, something happened. A series of thoughts went through her: first, that the name "Antony né Matthew" sounded somewhat familiar; second, that the name seemed in some way connected to her and her parents, especially her mother; third, that this somehow explained her question regarding her father's strangeness; finally, that the one who had brought these realizations to her, the fawn to whom she now oddly connected, had just been left against the wall, sobbing from sheer anxiety. With a sudden, mounting sense of guilt, she turned and truly looked at her work:

Antony né Matthew remained on the floor, his face still averted, the water now having stained his entire coat. His whimpers were barely audible in the emptiness she had left. He was shivering, whether from cold or something she had caused she dared not ponder.

Maria felt awful, as though she had betrayed him, herself, and the bond they had almost shared. However, she felt more fearful that anything she did to fix this would only cause more damage. With her head hung low, she whispered, "I'm sorry," and turned toward the exit.

…

"I don't hate you, Ronno," Faline said matter-of-factly, "and I don't want you to leave. I was the one who wanted you to come back in the first place. After all, he's mine as much as yours. Besides, I worry about you two."

"Yeah," he replied, her last words ruling his thoughts. "I tend to cause a lot of worry, don't I? Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better if the kid was with you."

Faline nuzzled his cheek, as she had done earlier, and whispered, "It'll be all right. You'll see. Everything will be fine."

"Yeah," Ronno sighed, the word a barely voiced drone that carried little certainty if any.

At that point, Ronno heard slow, steady footsteps exiting the cave. He withdrew from the meager comfort of Faline's touch and returned to the world. As he turned his eyes to the cave, he saw Maria come into the light with her head lowered.

"I'm ready to go," the fawn said. She sounded terrible, nothing like the cheerful soul that had entered only minutes before. Something wasn't right.

"All right then," he heard Faline answer, though he didn't quite hear it, as his mind was in other places. He was focused on the fawn before him.

_What happened in there?_ he thought. _Something bad. Could Antony have told her? This is bad. I've ruined everything._

Ronno quickly calmed down, reminding himself not to jump to such dark conclusions. He continued to observe the two as bid goodbye and turned away. He gave his own noncommittal farewell in turn, too focused on the matter at hand to worry over a single, trivial word.

As Maria and Faline returned to their familiar woods, he began to turn away, ready to investigate further in the cave. However, just at that moment, he heard Maria's voice and looked at the two.

"Mother," she said, "what did you say my brother's name is?"

"Well," Faline replied, "his name was Matthew."

The fawn stopped, and Ronno's heart sank. She knew. As he watched his precious daughter, now without a doubt shocked and confused, take off past her mother, the one he loved, and watched that poor doe, so mistreated by fate, chase after her, he gave up.

…

Returning to the cave, Ronno entered with no will to think, no way that he knew of to fix all this. His sanctuary, the home he'd chosen for the sake of solitude, offered no assistance. The world was collapsing on top of him, and he feared he lacked to strength to hold it up.

Suddenly, he caught sight of what he was returning to. Antony, his beloved son, was on the cavern floor near the wall, rising weakly to his feet, his coat soaked with water. Ronno could hear him sniffling meekly. Whatever had gone on in here hadn't proceeded well.

He approached his son unsteadily, wondering how he was going to fix this. When he reached him, Antony spoke out before Ronno could even try to say something.

"I'm sorry," Antony cried in a horse voice. "I got scared, and I couldn't take it. Now she hates me, and it's all my fault."

Ronno had to speak up now. "No," he said, lying down and nuzzling the boy, desperate to alleviate his son's guilt. "She doesn't hate you. She's just confused. And it's not your fault … I did this." Antony didn't speak but came closer to accept his father's warmth. "Don't worry," Ronno continued, "I'll fix this. I promise."

The father continued to comfort the son until the latter was asleep, exhausted from his trauma. Ronno slowly stood and looked up at the hole in the wall. The light from the hole was waning, and soon it would be gone. He looked down the tunnel to the outside and saw that the forest was darkening with the setting sun. Soon, all light would be gone, but he was now prepared to meet the blackness and uncertainty. It was no longer a matter of whether he could fix it or not. He simply had to, or no one else would.

As the light disappeared, and all became dark and obscure, Ronno made up his mind.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Yet may I by no means my wearied mind

Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore

Fainting I follow; I leave off therefore,

Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.

from "Whoso List to Hunt", by Sir Thomas Wyatt

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Wow. Longest chapter yet. Sorry about that. I guess I wrote myself into a corner. By making the chapters up until now shorter, I've forced myself to fit the remaining story into these last few chapters. By the way, yes, the story is almost over. Just two more chapters. Hopefully, number 9 won't take more than a year. As always keep the reviews coming. I love hearing my readers opinions. So don't hesitate to let me no what you think. I'll see you in chapter 9.


End file.
